By DPA
Washington : Muslims living in the US are better integrated and have higher living standards than their counterparts in Europe, yet most have doubts about American intentions in the war on terrorism and have become more fearful since Sep 11, pollsters have found.
Support for Islamic extremism – be it for Al Qaeda or for the use of suicide bombings – was much lower among Muslims in the US than in other Western countries.
About two-thirds believed there was no conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in Western society, according to the first nationwide poll on Muslim-American sentiment, released by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre this week.
Yet there were still significant pockets of support for Al Qaeda and its methods – 8 percent said suicide bombings were often or sometimes justified and 5 percent had a very or somewhat favourable opinion of Al Qaeda.
Those numbers were higher among US-born and younger Muslims but are about half as high as rates among Muslims living in Western Europe. One quarter of US Muslims those under age 30 said suicide bombing could be justified and 7 percent showed some support for Al Qaeda.
On US political intentions Muslims were much more sceptical. Only 40 percent of Muslims said they believed an Arab group was responsible for the Sep 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, though few would say who they thought was responsible instead. Only 22 percent believed the so-called war on terrorism was a "sincere effort" to reduce terrorism around the world.
Just over half said life had become more difficult in the US since the 2001 terror strike. Wealthier, college-educated Muslims are even more worried – two thirds say life has changed since 2001.
The numbers differ greatly from Muslims living in Western Europe, according to the Pew Centre that has conducted similar polls in a number of countries around the world.
In part, the results are a sign of Muslims' standing in US society. The number of low-income Muslims in the US is on par with the general public, while there are about 20 percent more low-income Muslims in Western Europe.
Just under half of those surveyed said they considered themselves Muslims first, Americans second, and 28 percent said the opposite. Similar results were found in France, but a full 81 percent of British Muslims put their religion ahead of their nationality, the Pew Centre said.
Pollsters interviewed 1,050 Muslims living in the US. About two-thirds of those interviewed were born in another country. The poll's average margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.